Home > Designing and creating databases > Editing objects, layout parts, and the layout background > Formatting objects, layout parts, and the layout background > Setting the fill, line style, and borders for objects, layout parts, and the layout background

Setting the fill, line style, and borders for objects, layout parts, and the layout background

Use the Graphic area of the Inspector to change the appearance of objects, layout parts, and the layout background. You can change:

•	the color (fill) or transparency of objects, layout parts, and the layout background

•	line style and color of objects and parts

•	borders around objects and parts

•	the shape of object and part corners

Tip  Use the formatting bar to quickly change the fill and border of an object or layout part or the fill of the layout background. (You must have already specified borders in the Graphic area of the Inspector, but you can change borders in the formatting bar.) To display the formatting bar below the status area, click Formatting in the layout bar.

To change the appearance of objects or layout parts:

1.	In Layout mode, select one or more objects or a layout part label.

See Selecting objects.

2.	Click Inspector in the layout bar, then click Appearance.

3.	To change the appearance of the object or the body part when it’s in a particular state (for example, when a button is pressed), choose from the object state drop-down list (near the top of the Appearance tab).

See Specifying the display state for an object.

4.	In the Graphic area, select the options you want to use.

The options you choose affect the appearance of the selected objects and parts in all modes.

 

To add or change	Use this control
The fill of an object (including the backgrounds of text objects, fields, and portals) or the layout part	Fill See also Filling objects, layout parts, or the layout background with a color gradient and Filling objects, layout parts, or the layout background with an image. Notes  • The fill you specify for the body part also affects the background of the table in Table View.  • If your fill setting does not appear in a portal, set portal rows to transparent. See Formatting portals.
The border around an object or layout part	All borders, choose any combination of Left border, Top border, Right border, or Bottom border
The borders between repeating fields or portal rows	Borders between repetitions .
The style and width of the border around an object or layout part	Line
The color of the border around an object or layout part	Color
The shape of the corners of an object or layout part	Corner radius Choose each corner that you want to have a rounded appearance, and specify a value in points. The larger the value, the more a corner is rounded.
The transparency of the fill color	Opacity slider The Opacity slider is located in the color palette.

To fill the layout background with a solid color:

1.	In Layout mode, click anywhere in the layout background to select it.

Note  To select the layout background, ensure no objects or parts are selected.

2.	Click Inspector in the layout bar, then click Appearance. Choose options in the Graphic area.

3.	For Fill, choose Solid Color.

Note  Alternatively, you can fill the layout background with a color gradient or image. See Filling objects, layout parts, or the layout background with a color gradient and Filling objects, layout parts, or the layout background with an image.

4.	Click the color control, then choose a color from the color palette.

5.	Move the Opacity slider to change the transparency of the fill color.

To make an object, layout part, or the layout background transparent:

Note  Making an object or layout part transparent allows objects or the layout background to show through.

•	In the Inspector:

•	For Fill and Line, choose None.

•	For Line, choose None and for Fill, move the Opacity slider in the color palette.

•	In the formatting bar: For Line, choose None and for Fill, choose transparent .

Notes

•	You can further customize the appearance of objects using the Advanced Graphic area of the Inspector. See Adding shadows and padding to layout objects.

•	You can copy formatting attributes between objects or parts. See Copying formatting attributes between layout objects, parts, or backgrounds.

•	Each theme comes with a set of default styles for objects such as shapes, buttons, lists, and menus. When you create an object or a new part on a layout, the object or part is formatted in the theme’s default style.

•	Changes made in the formatting bar replace settings in the Inspector, and vice versa.

•	To create a custom color, choose Other Color in a color palette, then click the color to use.

•	You can set right, top, left and bottom borders on fields, layout parts, text objects, rectangles, rounded rectangles, fields, buttons, portals, charts, popovers, and web viewers. You can’t set individual borders on lines, ovals, circles, tab controls, or slide controls.

•	You can display attributes that are specific to the state of the object when it is viewed in Browse mode. For example, you can set a lighter fill and border when a user pauses the mouse pointer over a field to draw attention to the field. See Specifying the display state for an object.

•	You can set up a layout background to display the current record or alternating records in a different fill color in List View. See Specifying the display state for an object.

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When you fill a layout part with an image, the image is stored in the FileMaker Pro file. The image then appears in every record that uses the layout and “fills” the entire width of the FileMaker Pro window when it is resized. You can also insert an image as a static object on a layout, which lets you reference the image from another file. See Inserting graphics onto a layout.

•	You can insert graphics as data into container fields. Do this when you have a different graphic for each record, such as employee photos in an employee directory database. See Inserting graphics into container fields.

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If a file was created in a version earlier than FileMaker Pro 12 and contained object border effects, effect settings appear in the Line menu. You can’t use the Line menu to apply effects to other objects, but you can copy and paste effect styles between fields. See Copying formatting attributes between layout objects, parts, or backgrounds. To remove field effects, apply a different line style from the Line menu.

•	To determine the RGB value of a color, in Layout mode, click the Fill color palette in the formatting bar and choose Other Color. In OS X, select the Color Sliders tab. Values are shown for each of the basic colors.

Related topics 

Drawing and inserting objects on a layout

Selecting and working with objects on a layout

Adding borders, fill, and baselines to fields